Renault RS34 – the future of Formula 1

The new regulations that the FIA is due to introduce in 2014 will see Formula 1 enter a new era. It is fair to say that it is on the threshold of one of the biggest technological changes in its history.
After a seven-year period during which engine specifications were frozen, the new regulations due to come into effect in 2014 will see engine makers play a central role in the cars’ overall performance. By placing engines at the very heart of the sport once again, motor racing’s blue riband competition will stand out more than ever as a showcase for cutting edge technology.

The objective of this metamorphosis is to ensure closer ties between the research and development carried out in F1, the concerns of everyday motorists and the new challenges faced on economic and environmental fronts, without detracting from the quality of the show or the level of competition.

This major technological revolution is a fresh challenge for F1’s engine builders, who are developing a brand new electrified 1.6 V6 Turbo power plant (known as a ‘power unit’), which combines a significantly downsized internal combustion engine with an energy recovery system that feeds two electric motors which can also recover braking and exhaust heat energy..

The gauntlet the FIA has thrown down to F1’s engine makers for 2014 is to reduce the quantity of fuel needed for a Grand Prix by almost 40 percent, yet still maintain the same level of performance and power outputs (i.e. around 750 horsepower) as today.

The key features of the new power unit include the new downsized internal combustion engine , which switches from a V8 to a turbocharged (single-stage compressor) V6 architecture. The capacity is reduced by one-third from a maximum of 2400cc to 1600cc. The maximum engine speed is capped at 15,000rpm for a power output of approximately 550 horsepower

New ‘Energy Recovery Systems’ are at the core of this new power unit with kinetic energy (ERS-K) and exhaust heat energy (ERS-H) recovered by the two electric motor-generator units named MGU-H and MGU-K.

With the 2014 technical regulations there are a number of key new restrictions. The amount of fuel that can be used during races has been reduced to 140 litres. Energy management will become a major factor of race strategies and car design. This is especially notable as the maximum fuel flow rate will be reduced to 140 litres/hour, making optimisation of every gram of fuel vital for cars to go as fast as possible on a given quantity of fuel.

The amount of energy that can be recovered during each lap has been reduced, and the amount that can be restored has also been reduced.

Another major restriction will be a form of cost capping, development costs have been limited and the number of engines each driver can use in the course of the season has been further capped: five per driver in 2014, then four per driver from 2015 (compared to eight per driver at the moment). The technologies and materials employed must be similar to those used for production engines.

All of this places a new emphasis on efficiency The efficiency of a conventional internal combustion engine is approximately between 25 and 30 percent in optimal conditions of use. This means that 70 percent of the energy provided by the fuel combustion is lost in the form of heat, either via the car’s radiators (exchange of heat between the engine block and the cooling fluids) or, more significantly, via the exhaust gases.
“Improving the energy efficiency of an engine entails transmitting as much of the energy produced as possible to the wheels mechanically and re-using as much of the energy resulting from the fuel’s combustion as possible. The aim of the new regulations is effectively to increase combustion efficiency thanks to the combination of downsizing, turbocharging and the recovery of the energy contained in exhaust heat (ERS- H) and lost as heat under braking (ERS-K) and then re- using this energy as electricity.” Rob White (Deputy General Manager and Technical Director, Renault Sport F1)

This will all have a significant impact on the aerodynamic packages on the cars according to Lotus Technical Director James Allison. “There are lots of things that cause you to burn fuel and lots of things that give you lap time and when you design the cars for any year you are trying to find the optimum combination of all of those things to make the fastest race time coupled with the best qualifying lap. It is certainly the case that you will have a different response next year to this year in terms of how dirty (in terms of drag) a downforce device you can use. But that does not mean that you will see the cars just scissoring downforce off it compared to what you are used to” he explains. “There will be opportunity, I suspect things like the front wing and the diffuser will follow similar paths to recent years and the hunting ground will be how you cope with the low nose chassis and how you integrate what is a very fierce cooling requirement into the chassis without haemorrhaging downforce.”

Page 2 – Efficiency will become everything

Sam Collins has worked for Racecar Engineering for more than a decade. His passion for racing began during his work experience in the loom shop of Williams F1 aged 16 and he has been involved in the sport ever since. Sam attended Oxford Brookes University to study Automotive Engineering and has written for many publications since, including Motorsport News and Autosport. He is Associate Editor of Racecar Engineering

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Racecar Engineering is the world’s leading publication for motorsport technology and engineering. Every issue provides unrivalled technical analysis of everything from World Championship series including Formula 1, to grass roots racing. Using the expertise of industry professionals, we look in detail at racecar design and innovation, whilst also keeping you up to date with news and developments from all the major race series across the globe.